The Story of the Queen of the Flowery Isles

Once upon a time, there lived a queen who ruled over the Flowery Isles. Her husband, the king, died a few years after they were married, and she was very sad. As a widow, she spent almost all her time teaching her two charming daughters, the princesses. The older princess was so beautiful that as she grew up, the queen worried that the Queen of all the Isles would become jealous. That queen thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world and wanted everyone to admire her.

To make herself feel better, the Queen of all the Isles had convinced her husband, the king, to make war on all the islands nearby. Whenever they conquered a new country, the king said that every princess from the royal families had to come to his court as soon as she turned fifteen, and bow to the queen's amazing beauty.

The queen of the Flowery Isles knew about this rule, so she decided to bring her daughter to the proud queen right after the princess's fifteenth birthday.

When the time came, the queen of the Flowery Isles and her daughter set out on a journey to meet the Queen of all the Isles. The queen herself had heard rumors about the young princess's great beauty, and she waited for their visit with some worry. Soon, that worry turned into jealousy, because when they met, everyone was dazzled by the princess's radiant charms. The proud queen had to admit that she had never seen anyone so beautiful. Of course, she thought to herself, "Except for me!" She could not believe anyone could be more beautiful than she was.

But when the whole court praised the princess out loud, the queen became very angry. She pretended to be sick and went to her own room, so she would not have to watch the princess's success.

She also sent a message to the queen of the Flowery Isles, saying she was too ill to see her again and suggesting that she go back home with her daughter. The message was given by one of the queen's ladies, who was an old friend of the queen of the Flowery Isles.

The friend warned her not to stay to say good-bye, but to leave as fast as she could.

The queen of the Flowery Isles understood the hint and hurried away. She knew the angry queen had magic powers, so she warned her daughter that she must not leave the palace for any reason for six months. The princess promised to obey. For six months, everyone tried to make the time pass happily for her.

Almost six months had passed, and on the very last day a big party was planned in a lovely meadow near the palace. The princess watched the preparations from her window and begged her mother to let her go. The queen thought all the danger was over, so she agreed and promised to take her there herself. The whole court was happy to see the princess free, and everyone went to the meadow full of joy.

The princess was so happy to be outdoors that she walked a little ahead of the others. Suddenly, the ground opened under her feet, closed again, and swallowed her up! The queen fainted from terror. The younger princess cried and cried, and could hardly be taken away from the place. Everyone was shocked by this terrible thing.

The queen ordered workers to dig deep into the earth, but they found nothing. The princess had vanished.

She fell right through the earth and landed in a desert place with only rocks and trees. She saw no other people, but a pretty little dog ran up to her and started to pet her. She picked him up, played with him, and then put him down. The dog ran ahead, looking back as if asking her to follow.

She let him lead her to a small hill. From there, she saw a valley full of lovely fruit trees that had both flowers and fruit. The ground was also covered with fruit and flowers. In the middle of the valley was a fountain, surrounded by soft green grass.

The princess hurried to this pretty place and sat down. She thought about her bad luck and cried. She knew she could eat fruit and drink water so she would not starve, but she worried that a wild animal might come and eat her.

After thinking about everything bad that could happen, the princess tried to feel better by playing with the little dog. She spent the whole day near the fountain. When night came, she wondered what to do. The little dog pulled at her dress. At first she did not pay attention, but he kept pulling and then running a few steps. Finally, she decided to follow him. He stopped in front of a rock with a big opening. He seemed to want her to go inside.

The princess entered and found a large, beautiful cave. It was lit up by shiny stones on the walls. In one corner was a small bed made of soft moss. She lay down, and the dog curled up at her feet. She was so tired that she soon fell asleep.

The next morning, birds woke her up with their songs. The little dog woke up too, jumping around her. She got up and went outside. The dog ran ahead and led her back to the garden. She ate some fruit, drank water from the fountain, and felt full. She walked among the flowers, played with her dog, and at night returned to the cave to sleep.

The princess lived like this for several months. She was less scared now, and she started to accept her life. The little dog was a comfort and her best friend.

One day, the dog seemed very sad and would not play. She worried he was sick. She carried him to a spot where she had seen him eat some special herbs, hoping they would help, but he would not eat. The dog sighed and groaned all night as if he was in pain.

Finally, the princess fell asleep. When she woke, the dog was not at her feet. She ran outside to look for him. As she stepped out, she saw an old man who hurried away so fast she barely saw him before he disappeared. This surprised her, and she was sad to lose her dog. She wondered if the dog had run away or if the old man had stolen him.

Worried, she wandered on. Suddenly, she felt herself wrapped in a thick cloud and carried through the air. She did not fight it. After a while, she found herself, to her surprise, on a path leading to the palace where she was born. The cloud was gone.

As she got closer, she saw that everyone was dressed in black. She wondered why they were mourning. She hurried in. People recognized her and cheered with joy. Her sister ran out and hugged her, crying with happiness. She told her that their mother had died of shock soon after the princess disappeared. The younger sister had become queen, but now she gave the crown back to the older sister, who was the rightful ruler.

The older sister tried to refuse, but finally accepted on the condition that her sister would share all the power.

The new queen's first acts were to honor her mother's memory and to treat her sister with great love. But she was still very sad about losing her little dog. She had people search everywhere, but no one found him. She was so sad that she offered half her kingdom to anyone who brought him back.

Many gentlemen from the court went out to look for the dog, but all came back empty-handed. The queen said that without her dog, life was too hard, so she would marry the man who brought him back.

This offer made many courtiers leave immediately. While they were gone, the queen was told that an ugly man wanted to see her. She had him brought to her room, where she was sitting with her sister.

The man said he could give the queen her little dog if she would keep her word and marry him.

The younger princess spoke first. She said the queen could not marry without the nation's permission, and that a council must be called. The queen agreed. She gave the man a room in the palace and ordered the council to meet the next day.

The council met and, by the princess's advice, decided to offer the man a lot of money for the dog. If he refused, they would banish him from the kingdom. The man refused the money and left.

The princess told the queen what happened. The queen approved, but said that since she was her own ruler, she would give up her throne and travel the world until she found her dog.

The princess was very worried and begged the queen to change her mind. While they were talking, a chamberlain came to say that the bay was full of ships. The sisters ran to the balcony. They saw a large fleet sailing to the port. All the ships flew bright flags and a white flag of peace.

The queen sent a messenger to the harbor. He soon returned to say that the fleet belonged to the Prince of the Emerald Isles, who asked to land and present his respects. The queen sent courtiers to welcome the prince.

She waited for him on her throne. When he came in, she stood up and walked a few steps to meet him. She asked him to sit, and they talked for about an hour. Then the prince was taken to his rooms.

The next day, he asked for a private meeting. He was taken to the queen's sitting room, where she was with her sister.

After greetings, the prince said he had strange things to tell her.

"Madam," he said, "I am a neighbor of the Queen of all the Isles. A small strip of land connects my country to hers. One day, I was hunting a deer and I met her. I did not recognize her, so I did not bow to her properly.

You know how vengeful she is and that she is a great magician. I learned this the hard way. The ground opened under my feet, and I was thrown far away and turned into a little dog. That is how I met your Majesty.

After six months, the queen was still angry, so she turned me into an ugly old man. I was afraid you would not like me, so I hid in the woods for three more months. Then I met a kind fairy who freed me from the queen's magic.

The fairy told me everything that happened to you and where to find you. I come to offer you a heart that has been yours since we first met in the desert."

A few days later, a herald announced the happy news that the queen of the Flowery Isles would marry the young prince. They lived happily for many years and ruled their people well.

As for the bad queen whose vanity and jealousy caused so much trouble, the fairies took away all her powers as punishment.